Denial In Addiction: What To Do?
Denial in addiction is one of the most common characteristics in people who are addicted to some substance or behavior. In fact, it is often family members, friends, and partners who pressure the addict to seek help. However, the person concerned does not believe there is a need to do so and even denies the problem.
This situation, although very frustrating, has a positive side: once the person discovers their problem and accepts it, they will be ready to begin the rehabilitation process. It is important to emphasize that suffering from an addiction does not necessarily have to be related to drug use.
There are people with problems related to the abuse of some activity such as work, gambling or food intake. For this reason, we will deepen the subject by focusing on some fundamental aspects.
The forms of denial in addiction
Denial in addiction involves multiple contexts, it’s not just the mechanism of lying about reality. You can be sure that it is much more complex than you imagine, which is why it is so difficult to deal with addictions. Among the forms of denial are the following:
- Simple denial. This is the way we identify most easily. It consists in denying the existence of the negative consequences that addiction has on daily life.
- Justification. When justifying, addicts find a reasoned explanation for their problem. Based on facts or situations, he convinces himself that addiction is the only way.
- Rationalize. As in the case of justification, it consists of giving arguments to addiction that make it logical, when in reality it is not.
- Minimize. For the affected person it is basically to minimize the negative consequences of addiction, as if they did not have the real impact they have.
- Futurize. It is the denial of escape. The employee sees the future as a way to avoid thinking or analyzing the present. Leave the chance to escape addiction for a tomorrow that will never come.
- Projection. This form of denial in addiction is well explained in psychological science. To project is to attribute negative issues that are ours to a third person. Basically, someone with an addiction transfers the problem to another while the problem is theirs.
Denial in the family
It is not just the addict who suffers from the mechanism of denial. Often it is also the family or the inner circle that goes through a period of denial of reality. This makes it even more difficult to address the treatment options.
According to some research, any family with a member suffering from an addiction becomes dysfunctional. The family balance is altered and roles are broken with the risk of canceling the support network.
This generates dysfunctional processes where family members, perhaps because they do not understand the problem of addiction, love and hate at the same time. In the midst of this confusion, communication breaks down and there is no talk of what should be talked about.
Coping with denial in addiction
Denial in addiction is not only present before detox treatment, but continues for most of the life of the pathological addict, like a ghost haunting him.
Sometimes the passage of time and the spiral of negative consequences lead the employee to recognize his problem. These are borderline situations that can result in a delayed approach. To avoid reaching these extremes, there are alternatives:
- Psychotherapy. Psychotherapy sessions are part of the accompanying detoxification process. Psychologists have tools to try to reverse denial.
- Behavioral diary. For pathological employees who have already begun detox, a diary can be helpful. In it they reflect on everyday situations and then analyze where the denial has appeared.
- Health education. Conversations, brochures, advertisements, events dealing with the problem of addiction can awaken in these people the need to rethink their behavior. This rethinking can be the first step out of denial.
Hiding is never the solution
Many times, addicts feel fear and take refuge in denial to avoid facing a certain situation. Their self-esteem is damaged and they believe that if they run away from reality, everything will be better. However, this is not true.
In these cases, the most important thing to help these people is support. We need to give them all the understanding, respect and support we can give. It will be difficult, but it is possible to recover and overcome the problem, as long as the person concerned does his part and has the necessary tools.
